Three Must-Be-Avoided Practices When Collecting Antique Cups

Copyright (c) 2010 Christine McVeigh

The internet has been your scouring ground when you're looking for antique cups to be included in your collection. You are looking at Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines to find the perfect antique cup and to probably get the best deal possible. On one side, your searching becomes overwhelming finding a lot of information about your indulgence—a lot of sites, a lot of antique cups.

People searching the internet for antique cups are looking for the best places to buy or sell antique cups, how they should look after them, how they can repair them and even how to spot fakes. This brief write-up will give you a glimpse of the three articles you should avoid.

All you have to do first is to get ample information about the type of antique cup you are looking for. Nevertheless, you could buy an antique cup for only one dollar. Not very much is it? However, what do you get from your spending?

To achieve good collecting, you essentially need to be aware of the specifics. Like how much would a cup for a particular era or generation normally cost? Is the site reliable, you are looking at? Check the credentials of the seller to see how reliable he/she may be?

What we have here are three points that you must be avoiding when collecting antique cups:

1. Never mind the first cup you find. Avoid it. Even if appears to be the right color, manufacturer and year, inquire about any cracks or stains that the cup has had. It is relatively easy to cover up a hairline crack in a photograph or even a stain. It's too late once you have bought it. You must be careful when buying an antique cup from photographs.

2. Avoid buying from photographs. Are you sure that the photograph could really show you the real condition of the cup? Say, the handle. Handles are easily broken. They can also be easily glued back. It is totally up to you if you are happy to get a glued on handle at a normal price. However, if you want an item with good quality - double check before you buy - if the photograph isn't clear enough then you have the right to ask.

3. Avoid buying cup if you are after for the markings. Does marking on the cup make it real? Don't rely merely on markings. It is possible for someone to add a marking on the bottom part of a cup or a plate, and before you know it you already bought a fake. This is a common problem about buying a product you have searched from the net without actually seeing it.

The best resort would be conducting researches first before buying an antique cup for it may be hard to replace or return it when you had bought it already. Despite the hassles, you surely want your antique cup to be worth the time, effort and cost.

Avoiding these common practices will increase your chances of buying the best quality antique cups to add in your collection.

Strengthen your know-hows about antique--different periods of existence, manufacturers, styles and fashion--if you are really into collecting, buying or selling antique cups of good quality. Whether it's for your next tea party or just adding to your collection, the more you learn the more you'll know what you like and why you enjoy them so much.